First Projects...Part One.

And they're off!

And aren't we impressed.

First out of the gates is...

JESSICA!

There are just so many things we love about this card!

New ipaper for one.

(coming your way soon -ish).

And those flowers!  A handmade gift from Suzanne.

Be sure to click the links for more 411.

Next up...

SANNA!

Listen up people. 

This was Sanna's first digi card!!

Everything printed off of her computer-

(yep, more of that new ipaper)

except the fluff on the bunny tail.

Sanna's going carrots and we're going bananas.

Good one!

And another first time ipaperer...

TERESA!

Teresa said:

"This was also my first time to play with Digi Papers!

 I took my files down to Office Depot and printed out whole sheets!

 It was great!"

And look at all the fun color and the sparkly rock!

We'll be back tomorrow with Part Deux.

You won't want to miss Lucianna's and Steph's cards.

We've had a peek and can tell ya...

It's gonna be gooood.

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The Torchbearers are Coming! The Torchbearers are Coming!

Check out the new flames!

Catching the torch from The Paper Princess @ http://www.create-with-joy.com/

Steph Herbert joins us from Sherbert Ink in Portland, Oregon.  Sherbert (aka sherbet) just happens to be one of our very favorite frozen delights and Steph serves it up fruity and delicious.  Her dream growing up was to be Anne of Green Gables, and although that didn’t exactly happen, she does have an E in her name and she did find her Gilbert Blythe (aka DH). They make a perfect pear.  With four kiddos and a part time job it’s amazing that she never runs out of juice.  Her two favorite hang-outs are the beach with the kids or her Stamping Studio with lots of Copic flavors.  Rasberry cordial anyone?  We think you’ll find her plum amazing!   

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Catching the torch from Mel McCarthy @ http://melstampz.blogspot.com/

You want suh-weet? You want Dill?  You’ll find it all at Mama Pickle’s.  Teresa is a military transplant from Iowa living in Virginia with a Mr. Pickle (when the Army lets her have him), a spicy hot Chihuahua mix and a zesty little pickle boy who just started in school by the name of…wait for it… Dillon!  Our stamping veteran lives on coffee and country music and usually has an ebook and an audio book going simultaneously.  With a clean surface and the right ingredients she’ll make something kosher every time.  The family is moving to Germany soon – guess we’ll be calling her the picklemeister!  Try a sampling for yourself @   http://mamapickle.blogspot.com/

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Catching the torch from Adrian Allen @ http://byadrian4u.blogspot.com/

It’s hard to believe that Lucianna Dilsaver has only been stamping for a year, but given her attention to detail and artistic vision it becomes a little more understandable.  With a husband, four children and a management position she sometimes dreams of swinging in a hammock, sipping some exotic pineapple concoction as cool tradewinds blow, while music plays in the background.  Of course she would be wearing shoes since she worries about things becoming embedded in her feet and multiplying, and she would also have to disinfect the hammock first because you never know where it might have been and no mosquitoes would be allowed.  Back in Oregon,  IRL there is always coffee perking, music playing and magic happening and then…it’s on to the next one.  Catch it quick @  http://dilsaverdesigns.blogspot.com/

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Catching the torch from Paula @ http://pammun.blogspot.com/

 Our bronze torch is working it’s way to the south of Finland to the beautiful town of Heniola, which is situated between two lakes.  A waterway runs through the town keeping everything connected.  On sunny days you’ll find Sanna running to the lake with Nuusku and Napsu, her Golden Retrievers and soaking up the warmth.  If she’s not there, she can be found sipping a coke with her (almost) husband or whipping up some yummy pasta.  Our happy little red head may have pinkies that are skewed, but she can still weild her H20’s like an expert to create the most beautiful cards!   Click to the land of a thousand lakes and let SannaS be your guide @ http://korttipajasannas.blogspot.com/

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Catching the torch from Suzanne Dahlberg @ http://thecardyard.blogspot.com/

 Jessica Davis follows her heart.  Married to her high school sweetheart, they’ve adopted three kids together – Boz, Nando and Garrett (two dogs and a cat in case you’re wondering;)  For work, Jessica is an activities director for Seniors. For play she travels and camps with the gang in her pretty new RV.  She also knits wonderful creations, reads on her new Kindle, picks fruit and preserves it, plays board games, attends stamping conventions and makes preparations for a new human baby niece on the way.  Her favorite food?  Her mom’s homemade mac and cheese.  Prepare to have your heart warmed @    http://thepaperparade.blogspot.com/

Don't forget to stop by their blogs to cheer them on!

Go Teams GO!

It Just Doesn't Get Much Better Than This!

Five beautiful women running with torches

Five incredible parts of the world

Five unique styles

Seven Amber Ink saying stamps

Twenty Six sheets of Amber Ink ipaper

Thirty Eight amazing projects

Six thousand three hundred and twenty eight follwers.

Remember?

ADRIAN!

MEL!

PAULA!

THE PAPER PRINCESS!

SUZANNE!

Yep.

Doesn't get much better.

We'll miss them very much.

The good news?

There are five beautiful women

putting on their running shoes!

Come back tomorrow to find out who makes the catch!

The Calm before the Storm

With new torchbearers

and one big bad hurricane

on the way
we thought it would be a good time to show you

Mel's calm and soothing beach diorama.

It is like a walk on the beach

on a hot summer day.

See those little beach clothes hanging?

They are only 1/4 to 1/2 inch high!

The whole box is 3 1/4 square "!

How darling would that be on your bookshelf?

Mel suggest a vacation memo box

(I think the Eiffel tower would just fit)

or

cut out family photos and have the kids building

sandcastles on the beach.

There are like a million ideas for this little gem.

Find out how

in a step by step Mel kind of way

@

Mel's Place

 Amber Ink Products used in this post:

And that's a wrap!

We can't believe that our torchbearers

are wrapping up.

ADRIAN!

PAULA!

The Paper Princess!

Aren't they great?

We'll miss them so.

We'll squeeze in one more trip to the beach tomorrow

and then next week it's back to school!

New torchbearers...to the ready!

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WOYWW - Something I Should Have Started Earlier In the Day

This is part of an epic undertaking as inspired by Baker at Man Vs. Debt.

It started off as an innocent ploy to get my bookshelf back to his former magazine photo-shoot ready glory, but now everything is more gory than glory....ish

Here's where I started the evening. UGH! What a MESS! I have been obsessing over my despising of the clutter for weeks now. So I set out to attack it...

What my workdesk currently looks like at 12:52 am...

Now I think I'm going to figure out some place to sleep....

I am sure that Julia and the Crew are doing much better. Run along and cheer them on!

xo and heavy dreams of books, Amber

p.s. also there was an earthquake today and when I came home two books were on the floor, which might have been what started this bout of insanity this evening.

50 cents

Half a dollar.

Doesn't go far these days.

Takes two of them to buy one thing at the dollar store.

Takes four of them to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Takes seven of them to buy one gallon of gas.

Takes ten of them to buy a gallon of milk.

Takes twenty of them to buy a movie ticket.

Takes one of them to buy a pound of potatoes.

Takes one of them to buy a sentiment digi stamp from Amber Ink.

And potatoes are fattening.

Go ahead.

Push the button.

See for yourself.

The possibilities are endless.

Let Adrian inspire you...

ADRIAN!

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Bye Bye Solstice

You can kind of feel it lately.

The shadows are getting longer.

The sun rises and sets a little differently.

Summer flowers are looking ragged.

Kids are going back to school.

Christmas decorations are in the stores.

And we're getting ready to pass torches ;)

We hear ya...

SUZANNE!

And ditto this:

SUZANNE x 2!

(click the link to read the funny dog story ;)

And since it is back to school time

I've gotta say

Paula's darling project brought back many a happy memory.

I spent too much time last night looking for

icee juicee or whatever it was

that used to be sold in the 1980's.

It was juice, but we'd freeze it.

Our freezer was chockablock full of these puppies.

And after school we'd all slip in to our bathing suits,

grab one (or two) out of the freezer

and then go for a swim to wash of the sticky.

Thanks for the memories...

PAULA!

Amber Ink Products used in this post:

Silhouettes and Pirouettes

The silhouette is often illusional.

This one by Kayahara is supposed to tell you

if you are right brained or left brained.

Is she spinning clockwise or counter?

I'll lay odds that Mel is right brained.

Remember that envelope she lined last week?

Here's what she put in it:

And then she did another one!

And put it in an organza bag

And added a teeny recipe and tea towel!

So this weekend,

If you want to really play

get inspired over at

 MEL's place

and get back to having some fun.

P.S.  Right brainers see her spinning clockwise.

So they say.

Amber Ink Products used in this post:

There are brass rings on this carousel!

As much as we love the carousel ride

we weren't planning on riding it all week.

But someone caught a brass ring.

Back at the turn of the previous century

Carousel rides were pretty popular.

There was no internet see

and people needed entertainment

so carousel's were it.

The inside animals could go up and down

but because of the design, the outside ones couldn't.

Boring.

Some genius devised an idea.

"Let's give the outside riders a challenge!"

A metal arm was suspended above the outside riders.

It contained a brass ring.

If you were lucky enough and skilled enough

you might be able to grab the brass ring.

And that is how "grabbing the brass ring"

has come to be known as

striving for the highest prize.

And Lucianna caught it :

LUCIANNA!

That Carousel will be spinning

for 4 more days.

We think you should schedule it.

The Ribbon Carousel!

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Coffee, Tea or...

salad?

I so wanted to be a Pan Am stewardess.

GASP! 

 How old is this person who didn't even 

attempt to say flight attendant?

Old enough to have actually interviewed for the position!

(I made the first two cuts but then must have spilled the salad ;)

This card that we missed yesterday

so reminded me of those days.

Also because Amber was on an airplane

(not Pan Am - a much lesser cousin that starts w/a D)

so there is no WOYWW this week.

But look...

Isn't it a beauty?

CORINNA!

Don't forget to enter the Ribbon Carousel Challenge.

Be there or be square.

Amber Ink Products used in this post:

Take a spin on the RIBBON CAROUSEL

We're sponsoring a sketch

over at the

RIBBON CAROUSEL

Interpret this sketch on a card,

quilt, sewn item, paper craft, painting

or jus about anything

Make sure that you use a little or a lot of

ribbon, bakers twine, jute twine, or lace .

Make sure you link  by 11:59 PM EST on August 22.

Check out the spin:

ADRIAN!

SUZANNE!

The Paper Princess!

PAULA!

MEL!

SAVANNAH!

DANIELLE!

ASHLEY!

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

On your mark...get set....GO!

Amber Ink Products used in this post:

Warm thoughts and Champagne...

ipaper!

The weekend is over,

but was there ever any harm done

over a Monday Brunch and a mimosa?

(Don't answer that!)

SUZANNE!

Tiny bubbles.

Make us happy.

Here are a few of our favorite projects

using some of our favorite fizzy ipaper:

EMILY!

And oh my lucky stars...

X2!

One of our all time favorites - A container full

of lucky stars for a friend in need.

Emily says this:

" I hadn't thought about these since high school when a fine arts friend of mine  used to fill glass jars and give them to all her friends. They were made with every colour of origami paper you could imagine and they were so beautiful! I can't believe I never made them 'til now using this fabulous tutorial. Making these stars is seriously addictive and therapeutic!"

May your week ahead

be filled with

Warm thoughts,

 tiny bubbles,

adoration

and

lucky stars!

Amber Ink Products used in this post: